AC controller issue with Cali 2013

Saif...This was the only AC related thread I could find in the Cali sub-forum.

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/2013-2014-california-30-owners-what-has-been-your-largest-service-issue.543365/

Maybe reach out to the poster or their service center for advice/ideas? Best of luck...T

 

Had the same problem with my 12 CALI. Dealer put in new controller and it did the same thing. Factory advised to check all grounds. Dealer did it and still a/c did the same as yours. My dealer said 458 have same problem , and it just the way it is. Bullsh_t!! I now have a CALI T and no problems at all. Welcome to Ferrari.

 

If it's not the controller, it could be the sensor(s). A healthy controller activates the AC unit's functions based on signals it is receiving from its own sensors as well as signals possibly coming from other subsystems. Errors in the sensors or erroneous signals from other subsystems could cause the AC controller to behave erratically. As these systems become more and more sophisticated, their potentially erratic behaviour become more difficult to understand and analyze if there is a defect in the system.

To fix erratic "transient" problems you often have to "catch them in the act". You have to detect when the controller makes the erroneous actions and trace in real-time, the causative signals back to their sources. To do this, you have to either insert debug code or equipment that records the action of the controller so you can play back and manually analyze the events afterwards or you have to insert code or equipment that can detect the non-spec behaviour of the controller. This usually requires an additional computer or "smart box" that can sense the non-spec condition and raise an alarm so the experts can pounce on the problem and watch it happen live. In the case of the "mad AC controller", one could theoretically replace the AC controller with a laptop running a "simulator" program that behaves like an AC controller but also has software monitoring the inputs to the AC controller simulator.

Ferrari, like most car companies, are still not functioning sufficiently like computer companies; whereas their cars have become so automated that they are really more like computers than cars. The evidence that point to this assertion is that mechanical components of Ferraris are very easy to maintain compared to the electrical systems and computer software. Swapping in new parts does not always fix problems. Dealers need to have in-house master software specialists who have intimate knowledge of the software architecture used in the cars and can run debug traces on these conditions and interface with the system architects back in Maranello to identify and sort out the culprits causing these problems.

 

Good luck with the AC controller swap test.

As for the "testing procedure" I suggested earlier, I was only hypothesizing what car makers like Ferrari COULD BE DOING to debug complex software-driven subsystems in today's modern cars. I have no idea if Ferrari or their dealers would have the computer and programmer resources to do the debugging I suggested. So be careful when you discuss the testing procedure with your dealer. Let your dealer do the talking and only ask questions. Don't tell them what to do. Let them do their work to the best of their ability and resources. Only after every avenue of testing has been exhausted should you suggest anything. They are the professionals and are paid to do their work - don't try to do their work for them.

What I do know is that dealers can connect modern Ferraris like the California via the Internet to technicians at the factory in Maranello so they can directly analyze the software and systems in the car.

In the meantime, please keep us informed on how you're doing.

 

The dealer should have better access to AC controller spares given how important this item could be in Oman. I have also bought from Eurospares and they respond very quickly. I hope the replacement AC controller fixes all the issues you're having.